Smithville - Port Republic Joyride
Although Smithville has existed as a community since the American Revolutionary War, most of the community remained very rural until the 1960s when the Smithville Towne Center, a tourist attraction containing over 80 shops, opened. The Towne Center was expanded to include numerous rides and other shops named "The Village Greene", which was the centerpiece of a large planned community developed since the 1980s.
The Port Republic Historic District is a 100-acre historic district located in the city of Port Republic. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 16, 1991, for its significance in architecture, engineering, industry, and maritime history. The district has 110 contributing buildings, including the individually listed Amanda Blake Store, and four other contributing sites.
Smithville Inn
Amanda Blake Store - Port Republic
Amanda Blake Store - Port Republic
James Baremore built what is now the Smithville Inn in 1787, as a a single room along a well-traveled stagecoach route. However, historians debate whether it was originally planned as an inn. The area of Smithville was originally considered part of Leeds / Leeds Point at the time.
Learn more about Smithville Inn.
Amanda Blake Store - Port Republic
Amanda Blake Store - Port Republic
Amanda Blake Store - Port Republic
The two-story frame Victorian store was built in 1884 for William Blake, a farmer from Chestnut Neck, and his daughter Amanda Blake, after whom the store is named. She became a milliner and operated the store. She was also the postmistress, from 1918 to 1940, for the post office located in the store. In the evenings, the store was used as a social gathering place, and a meeting place for the Independent Order of Mechanics.
Birthplace of the Jersey Devil
Amanda Blake Store - Port Republic
Birthplace of the Jersey Devil
The Jersey Devil was born in Leeds Point, e according to one legend about the cryptid. The legend claims that in 1735, the thirteenth child of a woman called Mrs. Leeds from the community was transformed into a demon shortly after birth due to her cursing that it would be the devil. The home where the Jersey Devil was born is lived in today. See the infamous chimney from which he escaped.
Boling Cemetary
Dr. Jonathan Pitney House
Birthplace of the Jersey Devil
The cemetery contains five headstones, four of which mark the graves of African American Civil War veterans who enlisted in the Union Army following the declaration of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. The headstones identify three Boling family members.
Dr. Jonathan Pitney House
Dr. Jonathan Pitney House
Dr. Jonathan Pitney House
On our way to Smithville we pass the restored home of Dr. Jonathan Pitney, "The Father of Atlantic City". The home was built in 1799, added to in 1848 and beautifully restored in 2015. The Jonathan Pitney house has 8 period appointed rooms and 6 suites all with private baths, gas fireplaces, air-conditioning and decorated from the early 1800's and Victorian era.
coming soon
Dr. Jonathan Pitney House
Dr. Jonathan Pitney House
The Bay Front Historic District was established in 1989. It is a large, cohesive collection of cottages from the period of 1890-1935, a time when seaside cottages (and time to use them) became available to those who could not previously afford them. The district is listed in both the National and State Register of Historic Places.